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Abstract Deformation is a fundamental aspect of sea-ice behaviour, playing a crucial role in the overall dynamics of polar regions. Sea ice deforms as it moves and changes shape in response to external forces and internal stresses. This may lead to the formation of specific narrow deformation structures, including cracks, elongated openings (leads), pressure ridges and shear zones, all of which are important for safety and navigation in polar regions. Cracks and leads also influence the exchange of heat and gases between the ocean and the atmosphere, affecting climate patterns and ecosystems. Satellite sensors may provide data on local sea-ice conditions, including leads and other deformation features, at high spatial resolution. However, the temporal resolution of these data is often insufficient as it is limited by the satellite’s revisit time and may also be affected by weather conditions. Sea-ice models may be used with various spatial and temporal resolutions. Nevertheless, modelling the dynamics of sea ice, including floes of various sizes and narrow deformation features, using traditional (continuum) models is challenging because of their coarse grids, especially near coastlines and islands. Models based on the Discrete-Element Method (DEM), on the other hand, can resolve the dynamics of individual floes of any sizes and, therefore, are well-suited for modelling the behaviour of sea ice at small scales. Using high-resolution satellite imagery along with oceanographic reanalysis data and large-scale ice drift predictions to initialise and force a DEM model, we have shown that this model can reproduce short-term ice drift and deformation patterns within a 100-by-100 km2 area near Arctic islands. However, further development of the DEM towards explicit ice fracture, accompanied by upgrades to ocean-current models, may be necessary, especially for long-term simulations (over 24 hours). The present model resolves elements of sea ice on scales of 50 m to 100 kilometres, including floes and leads, and, therefore, can be useful, e.g., in ice navigation and climate studies. To demonstrate a possible application example, we explored the possibility of using this DEM model for assessing routes for ship navigation through ice-covered waters.
Tsarau et al. (Sun,) studied this question.